In the episode, "The Widow of Paradise," The Texan rides into Paradise, Montana, and almost immediately is embroiled in a dead-end brawl with a drunk. The Texan shoots the man in self-defense and everyone in the bar applauds when he is acquitted of any crime. One of those "He needed killin'" kind of guys.
And then the story begins to unfold. The judge informs Bill Longley, aka The Texan, that the Montana criminal code ("It needs changing") puts the burden of taking care of the widow and any other dependents on the shoulders of the man who kills another in a duel. The camera zooms in on the passage from the code but it doesn't linger long enough for the viewer to read the text. After the episode ended (it was a comedy turn for this 50-year-old TV western*), we went back and paused the DVD so that I could get the citation.
§17.504. Injuries inflicted in a duel. This actually said that the survivor was responsible for financial compensation to the dead duelist's family, with terms mutually agreed on. Nothing about having to take care of the widow and children until the widow remarried. It also was not from the Montana Criminal Code, but the California Civil Code. And the version the judge was holding was printed sometime after 1921, with the original statute enacted in 1895. I gleaned that from the footnotes under the section.
The producers had no way of knowing in 1958 that there would be a time in the future when people could view these episodes at a time of their choosing with the power to stop the tape, zoom in and fact-check. But they were smart enough to use an old-looking book of real law that sort of applied.
And The Texan, of course, was honorable enough to stick around and take care of the woman and her ornery sons until he could find a "legal" way out of the entanglement. An entertaining show, The Texan.
*After the shooting, trial and acquittal, The Texan rides out to the dead man's ranch with the sheriff and the deceased's father-in-law. The Texan greets the lady of the house with these words, "You're the prettiest widow I've ever seen." And that's how she learns the fate of her husband. At least she didn't applaud.
And then the story begins to unfold. The judge informs Bill Longley, aka The Texan, that the Montana criminal code ("It needs changing") puts the burden of taking care of the widow and any other dependents on the shoulders of the man who kills another in a duel. The camera zooms in on the passage from the code but it doesn't linger long enough for the viewer to read the text. After the episode ended (it was a comedy turn for this 50-year-old TV western*), we went back and paused the DVD so that I could get the citation.
§17.504. Injuries inflicted in a duel. This actually said that the survivor was responsible for financial compensation to the dead duelist's family, with terms mutually agreed on. Nothing about having to take care of the widow and children until the widow remarried. It also was not from the Montana Criminal Code, but the California Civil Code. And the version the judge was holding was printed sometime after 1921, with the original statute enacted in 1895. I gleaned that from the footnotes under the section.
The producers had no way of knowing in 1958 that there would be a time in the future when people could view these episodes at a time of their choosing with the power to stop the tape, zoom in and fact-check. But they were smart enough to use an old-looking book of real law that sort of applied.
And The Texan, of course, was honorable enough to stick around and take care of the woman and her ornery sons until he could find a "legal" way out of the entanglement. An entertaining show, The Texan.
*After the shooting, trial and acquittal, The Texan rides out to the dead man's ranch with the sheriff and the deceased's father-in-law. The Texan greets the lady of the house with these words, "You're the prettiest widow I've ever seen." And that's how she learns the fate of her husband. At least she didn't applaud.